Kick-off for Croatian Twinning Project

Environment Agency Austria supports Croatian authorities in the control of transboundary shipments of waste

(Vienna, 21.9.2012) On Tuesday, 11 September 2012, the official kick-off meeting for the Twinning project on cross-border shipment of waste took place in Croatia. At the kick-off event in the Croatian Chamber of Economy in Zagreb, which marked the beginning of one and a half years of collaboration, representatives of the Croatian Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection, customs administration, police and Coast Guard as well as representatives of international companies and NGOs belonging to the field of waste management were present.

The Minister Mihael Zmajlović, the Deputy Minister Hrovje Dokoza and the Assistant Minister Goran Heffer, all from the Croatian Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection, gave an overview of the current situation of waste management in Croatia and outlined the challenges that need to be overcome in the near future. H.E. Paul Vandoren, Head of the EU Delegation, highlighted the importance of cooperation between Member States and candidate countries during the accession period. Austria's ambassador to Croatia, HE Andrea Böhm, pointed out the good cooperation between Croatia and Austria. The two project leaders, Anita Pokrovac Patekar from the Croatian Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection and Brigitte Karigl from the Austrian Environment Agency, as well as the Resident Twinning Adviser, Gernot Lorenz from the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, presented content and work plan of the project. It is aimed at the development of efficient structures for the authorization and supervision of cross-border waste shipments according to EU law. The project includes several weeks of training for Croatian environmental inspectors and employees of customs, police and the Coast Guard at various locations in Croatia.